Wireless Festival 2022: Chris Brown announced to perform at first UK festival in 12 years
Singer will perform at Crystal Palace and Birmingham venues
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Chris Brown has been announced as a performer at this summer’s Wireless Festival, marking his first UK festival appearance in over a decade.
The multi-venue music event will take place at London’s Crystal Palace Park and Finsbury Park, as well as outdoor at the NEC in Birmingham across two weekends in July.
The singer was added to the roster for Crystal Palace and Birmingham shows in a surprise announcement by the festival on Wednesday (25 May).
“You asked? We deliver… ALWAYS,” a message from the event’s official Twitter account reads. “For the first time in 12 years… @chrisbrown will return to the UK to shut down Crystal Palace and Birmingham.”
Brown will perform on Friday 1 July at Crystal Palace and on Saturday 9 July in Birmingham.
Until November 2021, the “Go Crazy” singer hadn’t performed in the UK in any capacity for over a decade. He made a special appearance during Wizkid’s show at the O2 Arena.
Brown was banned from entering the UK in 2010 after he was arrested in 2009 for assaulting his then-girlfriend, artist Rihanna, after a Grammys party.
Reactions to the singer’s addition to the Wireless Festival line-up have been mixed.
"Did yous forget why he was banned from entering?" one concerned person replied to the announcement, while another told the festival organisers: “No one asked for this, we actually asked that you didn’t do this.”
Others have shared their excitement about Brown’s UK festival comeback, praising Wireless for the news. One fan wrote: "You have no idea how long British fans have wanted to see Chris Brown perform. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."